Who is a Radiologist?

A radiologist is a medical doctor (MD) who specializes in diagnosing and treating disease and injury by using medical imaging techniques.

What kind of training and education has a radiologist completed?

Radiologists graduate from accredited medical schools, pass a licensing examination, and then go on to complete a residency of at least four years. A residency focuses on specific medical education in such fields as quality interpretation of medical imaging examinations and radiation safety. Radiologists also often complete a fellowship — one to two additional years of specialized training — in a particular subspecialty of radiology, such as breast imaging, cardiovascular radiology, or nuclear medicine. If you take into account four years of undergraduate education, the average radiologist has more than 13 years of training.

What medical imaging techniques do radiologists use?

There are four main kinds of imaging techniques: X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound. To learn more about each of these imaging techniques, visit MyRadiologist.com or RadiologyInfo.org.

Visit RadiologyInfo.org for answers regarding many radiologic procedures and therapies. The website will also tell patients how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed and will address what patients may experience and how to prepare for the exams.